May 28, 2009

A bolt of urban energy for State Street: New hotel's architecture is more interesting than good, but it engages and enlivens the theater district

The Wit, a 27-story boutique hotel that opened Wednesday at the corner of State and Lake Streets, is a work of pre-crash architectural exuberance making its debut amid a post-crash depression. Only in the heady days before last year's stock-market meltdown would an architect have designed a hotel with the likeness of a yellow lightning bolt zigzagging across its facade. Now, a basic room goes for $199.

In a sense, though, there is something timeless -- or at least fitting -- about the Wit's design. Its raffish theatricality is in keeping with its surroundings, given that it stands across the elevated tracks from the blazing marquees and caramel popcorn smells of Chicago's theater district.

So what do we have here -- a sterling or a so-so performance?

Both, actually.

The architecture of this eye-grabbing building is more interesting than good. But as a work of urban design, the hotel is very good, in large part because its architect, Jackie Koo, has embraced the grittiness of the "L" and State Street rather than turning her back on them. The ideal hotel simultaneously draws energy from the city around it and constitutes something of a city unto itself. That is certainly true of this building, which, in addition to its 298 guest rooms, has a conference center, a screening room and three restaurants, including one on its rooftop with striking views.

The Wit is the first major building by Koo, 45, who previously worked for Chicago's DeStefano+Partners. Along with the still-to-be-completed Aqua, an 82-story residential tower with rippling balconies by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, it is part of a mini-trend: female architects shaping Chicago's skyline. As Koo says, girls design towers differently than the boys; their buildings are less muscular and more playful.

Well, sort of. The Wit, which was developed by Scott Greenberg of ECD Co., looks as though it is two buildings, an impression that stems from the developer's directive to give the hotel's first-floor pub and second-floor fine dining restaurant their own identities.

To the north is an exposed-concrete high-rise that houses the restaurants and, above them, an assortment of meeting and guest rooms. To the south is a jazzy, glass-sheathed tower that might have come from the Miami firm Arquitectonica. Its focus is the lightning bolt -- actually, a thin, slanting wall of laminated glass with a chartreuse tint.

Formally, this approach yields mixed results. On one hand, by splitting the broad horizontal expanse of the hotel in two, Koo makes its parts seem thinner and more elegant. On the other hand, the building's north side is utterly banal, recalling the monster condo towers of River North.

The lighting bolt itself is double-edged, creating a memorable, appropriately playful image for a relatively small premium (an additional 1 percent, according to Greenberg, who declined to disclose the building's cost). Yet it is ultimately a piece of applique, disconnected from the building's underlying structure. It will have staying power only if you like seeing the world through a yellow visor.

The Wit is far more persuasive as a work of urban design, especially compared with its neighbor across State Street, the Renaissance Hotel Chicago, which looks as though it parachuted into the Loop from suburbia. The Renaissance backs up to the elevated tracks, as if to wish that all of their noise and clatter might disappear.

But Koo puts the Wit's soaring lobby right at the State and Lake corner, and gives it a facade of ultra-transparent, low-iron glass. By doing so, she turns passing Chicago Transit Authority trains into kinetic sculpture.

Her lobby offers more spatial drama, with a slick, metal-and-glass stair and a balcony-type overlook atop the revolving doors. Head to the second floor library, and you are practically standing alongside people waiting on the platform of the "L" station.

City views enliven the Wit's handsomely proportioned conference rooms and the guest rooms, which stretch from Floors 6 to 26. To ensure that residents get a good night's sleep despite the proximity of the "L," Koo specified double-layered windows, in which one layer of glass is 1/16 of an inch thicker than the other. Only overnight guests will be able to judge whether that feature (and white noise from fans) cuts down on the "L's" rumble.

The hotel's theatricality reaches its apogee in the rooftop restaurant called Roof. It's an indoor and outdoor perch from which you get both sweeping views and riveting close-ups, including one of the tempietti in the ornate 35 E. Wacker Drive skyscraper to the northeast.

Views such as this sum up the best of the Wit: The city gives something to the building, and the building gives something to the city. While Chicago has more architecturally distinguished new hotels, such as French architect Jean-Paul Viguier's gracefully dramatic Sofitel near the Chicago Water Tower, few match this one for engaging and enlivening the urban scene.

It's funny how when you walk on the sidewalk by this hotel, the yellowish-green lobby roof turns everyone yellow. Just what I like when I go to a hotel, to have the skin of a tennis ball. That's what this hotel needs: a tennis court. The Wit hotel screams 90s tennis fashion.

Blair,
Something that's been bothering me with these newer hotels is the lack of a driveway. Instead, tourists and valets block the street while loading their American Girl bags in their minivans. Can we recommend an ordinance requiring off-street loading zones for all new hotels? Please!!

I find myself on the fence with this one. I really enjoy the contrast between the glass and concrete, and while the bolt is gimmicky, I still enjoy its uniqueness. And I am sure the roof-deck bar will be a hit in that location.

There are a few things that puzzle me though. The superfluous signage at ground level and the paint. Its as if they would have stopped construction a few weeks back they would have had a better product. The color of the building would have been similar, yet the character of the well poured concrete would still remain. Better yet the litany of awkwardly placed signage would not be there. (Do you really need a giant cut out sign stood on its head when your building has 30 story 3D lighting Bolt?)

Jason, what in the world are you talking about? Most of the great buildings in the classic Chicago cityscape are glass and steel. Perhaps you don't like the way glass and steel was implemented in this building, but I would not attribute your dislike for this building because of glass and steel.

Personally, I can't help but picturing the east side of the building breaking off and falling on the el tracks. I certainly don't mean this literally, but visually that's what I imagine. However, that doesn't bother me. It's an interesting visual experience that adds delight and curiosity to its environment.

I completely agree with the author of the article. I appreciate Koo's effort to make the building more elegant and slener by breaking it into 2, but the north building is horrible! The concrete wall diving the north and south sides of the building which faces State St also seems like an unintenional feat; it dwarves the people passing by, and is also extremely uninviting (in a hotel, you probably don't want that). I was also disappointed by the fact that the concrete was painted over. Lastly, when I walked by I was shocked at the poor detailing of the building. There were mullion corners which were left open, and holes in the exterior walls where things that were supposed to meet during construction didn't.

Uniqueness is always about taking risks and I think this one doesn't exactly is a success. The structure itself and the materials used are indeed stunning but I really dislike the "bolt" idea in the front. It may be innovative but it doesn't seem to blend with the other structures there

Along with the still-to-be-completed Aqua, an 82-story residential tower with rippling balconies by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, it is part of a mini-trend: female architects shaping Chicago's skyline. As Koo says, girls design towers differently than the boys; their buildings are less muscular and more playful.

I really enjoy the contrast between the glass and concrete, and while the bolt is gimmicky, I still enjoy its uniqueness. And I am sure the roof-deck bar will be a hit in that location.

There are a few things that puzzle me though. The superfluous signage at ground level and the paint. Its as if they would have stopped construction a few weeks back they would have had a better product. The color of the building would have been similar, yet the character of the well poured concrete would still remain.

There are a few things that puzzle me though. The superfluous signage at ground level and the paint. Its as if they would have stopped construction a few weeks back they would have had a better product. The color of the building would have been similar, yet the character of the well poured concrete would still remain. Better yet the litany of awkwardly placed signage would not be there.

The architecture of this eye-grabbing building is more interesting than good. But as a work of urban design, the hotel is very good, in large part because its architect, Jackie Koo, has embraced the grittiness of the "L" and State Street rather than turning her back on them. The ideal hotel simultaneously draws energy from the city around it and constitutes something of a city unto itself.

The Wit is far more persuasive as a work of urban design, especially compared with its neighbor across State Street, the Renaissance Hotel Chicago, which looks as though it parachuted into the Loop from suburbia. The Renaissance backs up to the elevated tracks, as if to wish that all of their noise and clatter might disappear.